Meeting Psychological Needs in Web-based Courses for Teachers

Two teacher educators describe their efforts to design and deliver online graduate courses for practicing teachers that meet psychological needs for belonging, freedom, power and fun (Glasser, 1999). Strategies to promote belonging include welcome letters, icebreaker and cooperative learning activities, personal Web pages, liberal office hours, private e-mail messages, and personalized responses to student postings, and public acknowledgement of student accomplishments. To ensure freedom for all participants the authors use minimum participation requirements, clear but flexible deadlines, multiple project options, Internet links, and access to all students\u27 work and projects. To empower their students, the authors provide ample technical support, a course bulletin board, performance assessments, and frequent opportunity to apply course material to experiences. To enhance the excitement of online learning, authors use an inviting welcome page, humor, contests and games, group projects, multimedia, and emoticons

Using ICT to support reflection in pre-service mathematics teacher education

This paper analyses a virtual supervision setting (e-mail and forum) during the practicum in a pre-service secondary school mathematics teacher education program. It is a study of the authors’ own professional practice using a qualitative-interpretative approach and case studies of student teachers. The results show that the setting was significant for pre-service teachers who had a more reflective attitude, but was seen as a burden by the others. The forum enabled fruitful reflections and discussions and e-mail was mostly used for organizational matters. In the future, attention must be paid to the role of the educational supervisor in fostering participation in the forum and use of e-mail.Este artigo analisa um dispositivo de supervisão virtual (e-mail e fórum) durante o estágio num curso de formação inicial de professores de Matemática do ensino secundário. É um estudo dos autores sobre a sua própria prática profissional usando uma abordagem qualitativa e interpretativa e estudos de casos de futuros professores. Os resultados mostram que o dispositivo foi significativo para os futuros professores que tinham uma atitude mais reflexiva mas foi visto como um “peso” pelos outros futuros professores. O fórum permitiu reflexões frutuosas e discussões e o e-mail foi principalmente usado para matérias organizacionais. No futuro, deve ser dada atenção ao papel do supervisor educacional em promover a participação no fórum e o uso do e-mail

Co-creating an educational space

In this paper I generate my living educational theory as an explanation of my educational influences in learning as I research my tutoring with practitioner researchers from a variety of workplace backgrounds. I will show how I have closely inter-related the teaching learning and research processes by providing opportunities for participants to accept responsibility for their own learning and to develop their capacity as learners and researchers. My PhD enquiry ‘How am I creating a pedagogy of the unique through a web of betweenness?’ (Farren, 2006) was integral to the development of my own practice as higher education educator. I clarified the meaning of my embodied values in the course of their emergence in practice. I try to provide an educational space where individuals can create knowledge in collaboration with others. I believe dialogue is fundamental to the learning process. It is a way of opening up to questions and assumptions rather than accepting ready-made solutions. The originality of the contribution is in the constellation of values and understandings I use as explanatory principles in my explanations of educational influence. This constellation includes the unusual combination of an educational response to the flow of energy and meaning in Celtic spirituality and the educational opportunities for learning opened up by digital technology

Weald College: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 66/95 and 29/99)

Comprises two Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection reports for the periods 1994-95 and 1998-99

The Future Affordances of Digital Learning and Teaching within The School of Education

This report illustrates the discussion outcome on digital education within the University of Glasgow School of Education. It is not a strategy document but it does explore the conditions for nurturing digital culture and how these can be channelled into a strategy on digital learning and teaching. The report is based on a review of literature and on a number of local, national and international case study vignettes